Scott Davidson utilises the power of MIDI to provide the instrumental foundation for Bros' music, both on stage and in the studio. Julian Colbeck takes notes...

Already renowned for producing high-quality budget equipment, Alesis have introduced a new 16-channel mixer. Ian Waugh discovers Monolithic Circuit Technology is behind the 1622's amazing performance.

Just when you thought it was safe to be blasé about L/A synthesis, Roland introduce a mighty synth sure to re-establish L/A as a current source of sounds. Simon Trask previews Roland's new flagship.

who finds the bits for the pop films

An all-analogue electronic drum kit with built-in sequencer. Made in Britain by Magic Music: tested by Paul White.

Doepfer MAQ16/3 MIDI Analogue Sequencer

Mixed media pioneers Matt Black and Rob Pepperell talk about their plans for the future of entertainment and art, as part of the Hex project

Guitars For £150

Begin with a Bargain — reckon a new guitar for less than £150? We show you how

...while Tim Goodyer checks out the production version of Akai’s contender and cocks an ear in the direction of some factory sound disks.

A British handmade acoustic for £195? — The Pilgrim made us suspicious - we checked it ruthlessly.

Over The Tracks With The Big Express

making The Big Express and strumming guitars

No, snippets aren't a tasty cereal snack at all. They're what this bit is full of

Ambient, techno and the internet

Paul Overaa gives the once over to this new Amiga sequencer.

One of the stars of Channel 4's Fourmations, Brian Johnson's Improvisions combine musical performance with real-time manipulation of video images. Peter Ridsdale trips on this.

Total Percussion Sound Module

Sequencer owners rejoice! Roland have taken the 16-bit PCM sounds from their popular R8 drum machine, put them in a convenient rackmount case, and added extra slots for ROM and RAM cards to produce a beat-box par excellence. David Brenton reports.

Sky's keyboardist was one of the first musicians to take the Yamaha DX7 on the road for the band's last tour, here he explains how it stood up to the rigours of the road.

What's hot for '87

Editing

Presenting the cut and splice of real editing — that's the business with razor blades, tape and good idea

Steve Cogan takes time out to talk to the members of Yen